Ready To Ride

I’m 62 years old ….. but that won't last long. As my life ticks away with no adventures on the horizon, I ponder the possibilities. I’ve always enjoyed road trips on a motorcycle and have been on many, the highlight of which was the USA Ride in 2000, the year I retired. My wife, Sherry, and I rode our 1998 Harley Road King to Maine and back. It was an adventure that continues to bring good memories and a yearning to do it again.  I am hoping to complete one more “big ride”, this time to Florida and back. I’m hoping the ride will commence in April when the snow has melted from Oregon’s mountain passes.

Though she’s always invited, Sherry encourages me to go alone. Being immersed in her own hobbies at home, which centers around her horse and our three dogs who need constant care (and let's not forget the two cats and "Arlo" the parrot), she doesn’t share my zeal to leave it all and freely roam the country. She also agrees I need some spark back in my life. It’s like when Billy Crystal went on that cattle drive in the movie, City Slickers. She knows I need to do something to put a smile back on my face. And so it is. I’m in the planning stage of the trip and am using Google Earth to map out a strategy.

The interesting part of this ride won’t start until reaching Florida. I feel it prudent in early to mid-April to take the snow-free southern road, a long and boring crossing of the Southwest I’ve traveled several times before and recall nothing of interest to look at. For that reason, and because lodging expenses are what they are in this day and age, I plan to get at least to the middle of Texas before slowing down. Not that west Texas has much in the way of scenery but it is where lives an old Navy buddy and a couple of cousins I would like to visit. As I linger there I’m hoping springtime tornadoes stay in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Because I usually record my travels in a journal (the 2000 USA ride generated 268 handwritten pages) I will take my laptop and “blog” my observations and photos whenever “wi fi” is available. To become familiar with the process I will make this my first entry and use the blog to record the trip planning, and perhaps include relevant photos from time to time. Of course most relevant will be a picture of me and my ride, a 2012 Harley Davidson Road King. These two photos were taken during an Eastern Oregon Ride last September:




Near Cathederal Rock South of Kimberly, Oregon (Sept 2012)


U.S. Hwy 395 South of Long Creek, Oregon (Sept 2012)